Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Thai Insurgency

Zachary Abuza at the Counterterrorism Blog notes that rather than calming down after recent political developments, the Thai insurgency has flared up with renewed ferocity.

More than 2,100 people have been killed in 38 months, and the government has proven completely incapable of responding to the situation and stemming the violence. That has given the insurgents considerable momentum, and caused a greater number of moderate Muslim civilians to be more supportive of the insurgents.

The brutal killing of the nine villains in the van, came days before the sixth anniversary of the 19 September 2006 coup. While the justification and rationale for the coup is still debated, people across the political spectrum placed considerable hope that the Council on National Security (CNS) and the government that they installed would do a better job than the Thaksin administration in stemming the violence.

Yet, the exact opposite has been true: the daily average rate of killing has more than tripled in the past six months, from 1.6 people a day in 2006 to almost four per day. Over 400 people, roughly 19 percent of the 2,100 people killed since January 2004 have died since the coup. Attacks have become more sophisticated and coordinated. Sadly the junta leaders remain oblivious to the reality on the ground and show precious little resolve in dealing with the insurgency, they remain mired in petty political squabbles in Bangkok and blind to the reports from their field commanders.

I really haven't been able to devote as much time to this issue as I would like, but there are a collection of links in "Second Front" page at Wretchard.com

Well, "Mark", it must come as a surprise to you, then, that THIS poster not only LIVES in Thailand, but reads, writes and speaks Thai...

Because in Thailand, when I speak Korean, they don't understand me at all!

So even MORE deflating, "Mark", is that as a proud American I use my linguistic skills to reach members of the significant Korean community here (Bangkok & environs) as well as Thais, to inform them when they exhibit misunderstandings of American efforts; when they display ignorance of factual history about America, and to gently but truthfully help them to learn more about the beauty, courage and strengths of America.

Then, just for laughs, I ask them "What sound does a harelip dog make, Mark?"

While the Thai’s reshuffle their military, the Internal Securities Operations Command notes that the frequency of violence has decreased, though, admittedly, it has lead to more deaths. Meanwhile, Human $Rights Watch admonishes:

“’The Thai security forces are using disappearances as a way to weaken the militants and instill fear in the Malay Muslim community,’ said Brad Adams, Asia director for HRW.”

Perhaps HRW could offer a more proactive approached to stemming the violence and creating an atmosphere where non-Muslims can live in peace without the fear of religiously inspired murder.